Black Holes give back, but you may want a refund
by Professor Meshka
Summary: Discontinued until further notice. Johnny has been pulled into a black hole along with Dr. Doom. Where is he? Is he alive? And if he is, what sort of state is he in? Rated for possible gore and references to torture. Angsty!Johnny. Worried!Sue, Ben and Reed.
1. Not Coping

_Ok so this is my first Fantastic Four fanfiction so bear with me :)  
><em>_I hope you like it XD _

_Obviously I do not own any Fantastic Four characters :)_

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><p>Chapter 1: Not Coping<p>

Susan Storm walked slowly to her husband's lab. She held her coffee mug tightly in her hand, so tight that her hand began to burn, but she continued to grip it. She deserved the pain, she _enjoyed _it even. The feeling of burning in her hand took away the feeling of emptyness in her heart.

She reached the laboratory of Reed Richards and approached him slowly as he he sat at his desk. She placed the mug by him and the burning continued for a moment, before it was merely a bit of heat on her skin.

"Thanks honey." Reed thanked her quietly, not turning away from the screen. He was concentrating too hard, he was desperate, confused and distraught at his foolish mistakes.

Sue nodded robotically and left the lab slowly, walking at a mechanical pace back to the living room.

Ben Grimm sat at the kitchen table buttering a piece of bread. He admired his work when he was finished and began to decorate his masterpiece with a variety of vegetables, meat and condiments. He stood back and observed the finished product, he thought about what else he could do to make the sandwich better. He thought he might toast it, then the memories flooded back. Heat, silence, anger and then loss. The memory reran in his head everyday, and for once, this large, unstoppable juggernaught, was helpless to do anything.

Ben looked up as he saw his friend Sue walk aimlessly into the living room.

"Hey, Suzie." Ben greeted her softly, as soft as his deep hoarse voice would allow anyway.

Sue looked up at Ben and flashed a brief, weak smile. But as soon as it appeared it was gone again and she sat on the floor in front of the windowed wall of the living room, gazing out into the busy city that somehow seemed so empty.

Ben's stone features shifted to a frown and walked into the living room. He stood behind Sue and bent down behind her.

"How long's it been Suzie?" He asked softly.

"How long has what been?" Sue's voice was quiet and hoarse, almost raspy, as if she hadn't spoke in weeks.

"How long has it been since you first sat here with that look on your pretty face?" Ben sighed.

Sue's face fell and her bottom lip began to quiver. "A year and...4 months" Her voice broke into sobs and she slapped her hand to her mouth and broke down quietly.

Ben knelt down and pulled her into him, hugging her as softly as his rock body would let him. Sue didn't seem to mind that her crying post was rock hard as she dug her head into his stone chest and sobbed heavily.

Reed walked into the living room. There were bags under his eyes, his hair was untidy and had grown to a length that he wouldn't usually allow it to be and he had a short beard. He frowned as he heard Sue cry and rushed to her.

"Hey, Sue. Are you ok?" Reed asked softly. Very dumb question he knew, but it was instinctive.

Ben immediatley released Sue, knowing that she would rather cry into her husband, not just because he had normal skin. Sue did just that and slammed into Reed's chest with harsh sobs.

"Where is he?" She cried. "Where's my brother?"


	2. Could it be?

_**DISCLAIMER!**!_

_Obviously I do not own any Fantastic Four characters, themes or storylines (except this one). All rights belong to Marvel :)_

_I can't be bothered to do the whole copyright thing but just, please don't take my story :)_

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: Could it be?<strong>

Reed sat on the couch with Sue curled up in his arms and Ben sitting in his arm chair and they watched the televsion quietly.

"A fire broke out suddenly at a Nike warehouse in Tampa this morning..." The news reporter announced and Sue buried her head in Reed's chest. "Firefighters managed to put out the blaze within a few hours but the damage was horrifying to the residents and..." Ben grabbed the remote and switched the channel.

"I er...I hate the news." Ben frowned as he defended his actions to a sleepy jury.

Reed and Sue lay quietly together and Ben sighed. A high pitched alarm caused them all to sit bolt upright.

"What the hell is that?" Ben asked Reed. He guessed it would be Reed, it always was.

Reed pulled out a small device and clicked a few buttons before his eyes widened.

"What is it?" Sue asked quietly.

"No..." Reed said, in a volume that was a whisper away from being a simple breath, before he stood up quietly and raced out of the room.

Sue and Ben exchanged worried glances before rushing after him.

"Reed?" Sue called.

"Hey Stretch, what's goin on?" Ben called as they continued to rush after Reed.

Reed raced into his laboratory and sat behind a large computer.

"Reed! What's going on?" Sue demanded weakly.

"Something's entering the atmosphere." Reed told them.

"You mean...from space?" Ben asked.

"Yes."

"Is it aliens?" Sue asked, rubbing her arms in discomfort.

"I don't know, but its fast." Reed said. "And its temperature is..."

"Is what?" Sue asked quickly.

"Its high...extremely high." Reed frowned.

Ben and Sue exchanged glances.

"Do you think it could be..."

"No." Reed interrupted Ben.

"But what if..."

"Sue!" Reed cut off his wife and turned to face them. "I'm sorry...but its not Johnny."

The name almost didn't come out. It had been a taboo for about 6 months now, no one said his name, no one spoke about him, it was too painful, the way he disappeared was...too horrible.

**~FLASHBACK~**

_"Victor, you don't know what you're doing!" Reed cried as Victor Von Doom's finger got closer to the red button._

_"Quiet Richards!" Victor barked. "You've always tried to hold me back, not this time."_

_He was right, at least about the second part. Reed struggled against the air tight walls of the box he had been trapped in but to no avail. He looked over to Sue, who was handcuffed to the wall and sighed as he saw a tear fall from her beautiful blue eyes. _

_He then looked over at Ben, who was chained to the wall by triple metal chains that even Ben couldn't break out from. This was it, Victor would turn on his machine and create a black hole in the middle of the earth. He no longer cared about defeating the Fantastic Four, or even world dominance, he was angry at the world and didn't care if he was caught in the crossfire, as long as the earth suffered._

_Reed looked over at an unconscious Johnny. He wasn't chained, or trapped, but he took a hard blow to the head with an iron pole so he couldn't help._

_Reed had lost all hope and now resorted to begging._

_"Please Victor, don't do this." Reed begged his former business associate. "The vengence you seek cannot be found, and dying for your cause is not going to help anything."_

_"Save your pathetic words Richards." Victor smirked. "The time for talking has long passed." He said before he pushed the button and the windows shattered all around them. The machine swirled into a huge black circle and paper, furniture, everything was flying into the devastating black hole. _

_Sue gripped on to her handcuffs, fighting the force that tried to pull her into the machine. The handcuffs snapped and Sue flew through the air towards the black hole._

_"Sue!" Reed cried and pressed himself up against the wall of the box as he tried to go to her. _

_The rest was almost as if it was in slow motion. Sue flew towards the black hole and suddenly a bright flame appeared and threw her to the left of the machine, out of the way of the pull. The flame then grabbed Victor, as well as the control and both were pulled into the black hole._

_"Johnny! No!" Sue screamed as Johnny was pulled into the swirling black circle. A few seconds passed before th circle shone brightly and disappeared. Johnny was long gone._

**~END OF FLASHBACK~**

"How do you know?" Sue cried. "How do you know its not Johnny?"

"He was pulled in to an artificial balck hole." Reed explained. "We still don't know where normal black holes go, never mind ones that Victor created." When Reed finished the machine began to beep louder and quicker.

"What's goin on now?" Ben asked.

"Whatever it is...Its crashing." Reed said.

"Where's it gonna crash?" Sue asked.

There was a pause as Reed typed on the computer.

"Reed?" Sue spoke again, this time with a more urgent tone.

"Central Park." Reed said.

Sue rushed out of the lab and Reed chased after her.

"Why's it always a landmark?" Ben rolled his eyes before going after them both.

The Fantastic Four, minus the fourth, hurried to Central Park in the 'Fantasticar' and landed just away from the middle of it.

"Ok, so what now?" Ben frowned, scanning the sky.

"Apparently, whatever this is should landed just about here." Reed also scanned the sky, but looking don at his device occasionally too.

Sue looked at the clouds hopefully. She wanted so much to see her brother's smug face appear from behind the cloud and hug her. She needed his hugs, he was the youngest, but she needed him. She needed him like she needed her Father when he went to prison. She needed him like she needed her Mother when she died. He family had all been taken from her, and now she'd lost Johnny too. A tear streak down her face as she waited.

"Well I don't see anything." Ben shrugged. "Maybe the mchine was wrong, maybe..." Ben stopped as he saw something falling from the sky. "Holy cow." Ben said as he looked up at the huge ball of blue fire hurtling towards the Earth.

"Get out of the park!" Reed ordered and the civillians also obeyed, fleeing the park away from the astroid-like object falling towards them.

After everyone was safe, the three took cover behind the 'Fantasticar' and watched at the object shrunk, turned into yellow flames, then red before it crashed to the ground, sending shockwaves through the floor.

"Woah." Ben breathed.

Sue stood up slowly and walked robotically towards the crash site.

"Sue! What are you doing?" Reed called after her but it was useless.

Sue wasn't listening, she had to know, she had to cross out the possibility. She stepped hesitantly past the fire and looked down into the large hole that had been made by the crash.

"Johnny!"


	3. Welcome home

_Thanks for the reviews KDean9 and liltiger534. I really appreciate the feedback and support :D_

_I do not own any fantastic four characters, all rights to characters belong to Marvel._

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><p><strong>Chapter 3: Welcome home<strong>

"Johnny..." Sue's voice trailed off, her brother, laying in the middle of a crash site had knocked the wind out of her. She couldn't speak, she couldn't breath, she couldn't move. Until she saw his finger twitch, then she leapt down into the hole and collapsed next to her baby brother.

"Johnny speak to me!" She cried, frantically searching for a pulse. She found one, it was weak, but he was alive.

"Sue what the hell are you?..." Reed rushed to the crash site and stopped dead when he looked down into the shallow hole. "I don't...Johnny..." He breathed with wide, unbelieving just wasn't possible, Johnny was pulled into a black hole. How could he just appear back on earth.

Those sort of questions never even crossed Susan's mind. She scanned her brother, taking in everything that he was. His uniform was dirty and ripped, his hair was longer than he usually let it grow and his facial hair had also grown out of its usual boundries. Her eyes welled u and she took his hand, gripping it tight in fear that he would disappear again.

Johnny's eyes were closed, his mouth was open a little and his breathing shallow. His usually so happy and cheerful face was straked with a pained, tortured expression, something Susan hadn't seen on her brother since the death of their mother.

"Hey." Ben called as he approached slowly and out of breath. "What the hell you guys do...in..." Ben stopped as he saw Sue and Johnny. He'd never seen the kid like this. Johnny was always so happy, confident, loud, and now he was everything but.

"We have to get him back to the lab." Reed said.

Sue nodded, her eyes not leaving her brother and her hand not loosening their grip on his.

"Ben, can you..." Reed began and Ben nodded, knowing what his friend was going to ask of him.

The big, rock man manouvered his way carefully down to the hole and crouched down next to the tearful blonde.

"Suzie." Ben said softly but Sue didn't look at him. "We gotta get him out."

Sue looked up at Ben, her big, blue eyes filled with tears of worry and nodded and stood up slowly, only letting go of her brother's hand when it couldn't reach high enough for her to keep hold of. She hurried up out of the hole and slammed into Reed, crying hard into his chest.

"I thought he was gone!" She sobbed hard, choking on her words as Reed tried to calm her with gentle hushes and stroking her long blonde hair.

Ben looked at Johnny and sighed. "What've you done to yourself matchstick?" He said quietly. He slipped his large, stone hands underneath his unconscious friend and lifted him effortlessly up into his arms. He walked up out of the hole and stood by Sue, making sure that she could see him.

Sue looked at Johnny and rushed to him, stroking his face and watching his pained expression in concern.

"What's wrong with him, Reed?" Sue asked quietly.

"I don't know, Sue." Reed sighed before turning her round and taking her dainty hands in his. "But I promise you, I'm going to find out."

Sue nodded and turned back to Johnny.

As Ben took Johnny away back to the 'Fantasticar', Reed walked behind, puzzled. If Johnny's back, mustn't that mean that Victor is back too?

Reed placed Johnny on an observation bed and allowed him to sleep. He placed an oxygen mask on him and a heart monitoring machine to keep an eye on him.

Reed and Ben left him to sleep but Sue sat by his bedside, not wanting to let her brother out of her sight for even a moment. She was terrified that he would be stolen away from her again. The worst part wasn't that he was gone, it was that she didn't know where he was, or even whether he was alive or not. He was gone for so long that others had given up hope, but she couldn't. She'd lost her mother, her father, she couldn't lose Johnny. Not after everything they'd been through together. He was everything to her, except Reed through matrimony he was the only family she had.

A few hours passed and Sue kept hold of her brother's hand, not taking her eyes off of the sleeping man. Sue's eyes began to drop from fatique, her gaze slowly lowered and her eyelids became heavy, but she maintained her watch on her baby brother for as long as she could before she felt her forehead on the side of the bed and her eyes closed before she drifted to a deep sleep of relief.

Sue hadn't slept much since Johnny's disappearance so when she was off she was asleep for a long time. Her eyes fluttered open heavily and looked down at the floor. She was still sitting on the same chair with her head rested on her arm on the bed. She sat bolt upright as soon as her brain clicked back in and she remembered where she was. Panic hit her like a train when she saw an empty bed in front of her and she let out a soft cry. She stood up sharply, knocking the chair down as she did and spun around, searching for her brother, and to her shock there he was.

Johnny was stood by the window, gazing out to the city. His posture was relaxed and happy, like nothing had happened. He jumped when the chair fell and his neck snapped round to face Sue, then he smiled. Sue had been waiting, searching for that happy, confident smile that she knew and loved so deeply that her knees buckled and she crashed to the floor with a gasp.

"Sue!" Johnny cried and rushed to her.

Sue knelt on the floor, hand over her mouth, watching her brother. She felt like she was dreaming, like she was having a dream of false hope and that she would wake up and her brother would be dead but she felt Johnny's hand touch her face, and she saw his blue eyes clearly look into hers.

"Sue, are you ok?" Johnny asked as he touched her cheek and looked at her tearful eyes. He thought she'd be happy about his return, he was expecting a hug.

"J-J-Johnn-y-y?" Sue's voice was weak, almost not even there.

"Yeah, its me." He nodded, smiling softly at his sister as she touched his face, checking whether he was real or not.

"Johnny!" She cried and leapt into his arms.

She knocked Johnny backwards and threw her arms around his neck as she burst into tears.

"I-I thought y-you were dead." She choked on her sobs and Johnny stroked her back as she did.

"I know, I'm so sorry." He nodded and hushed her cries.

Sue sat back and slapped Johnny in the face.

"Erm...Ow." Johnny said as he stroked his red cheek.

"Don't you ever! Fly into the pull of a black hole again!" She yelled, still sobbing which made Johnny chuckle.

"Not even a 'thanks for saving my life' or anything?" Johnny chuckled.

Sue flung her arms around him again.

"Thank you." She sobbed.

"Don't mention it." He chuckled.

"Sue, are you ok I heard sh..." Reed rushed into the room and stopped. "Johnny?" He breathed.

Johnny stood up and helped Sue to her feet before they both walked up to Reed.

"Hey, its stretch dude." Johnny joked.

Reed hugged him tightly closed his eyes tightly.

"I missed you too, bro-in-law." Johnnny laughed and hugged him back. "Where's Pebbles?" Johnny asked as Reed released him.

"In the kitchen...I-I think." Reed replied, totally speechless at Johnny's recovery.

Johnny nodded an raced down the stairs, he'd missed torturing the poor guy. He swung round the door frame and hung there as he spotted Ben standing at the counter with his back towards him. Johnny smirked devilishly and picked up a banoffee pie that Ben had unwrapped earlier. He pulled his arm back before he flung it towards Ben, who luckily bent down to pick something up just in time, and the pie hit the wall in front. Ben stood up and looked at the pie on the wall.

"Damn." Johnnny chuckled and Ben swung round to face him. "You're a lucky rock, you know that?"

"Kid?" Ben breathed.

"The one and only." Johnny pointed at himself.

"But you..." Ben breathed as he approached Johnny slowly.

"Were sucked into a black hole, I know, it gets complicated." Johnny nodded before being pulled into a tight embrace. "Jeez! Ben...Can't breath!" Johnny croaked as Ben squeezed him tightly.

"Johnny? Is that you?" Alesha asked as she walked into the kitchen.

"It won't be if your boyfriend keeps crushing me!"

"Ben!" Alesha said and Ben snapped out of his thoughts and let go of Johnny.

"Whoo! Thank you." Johnny sighed.

"I just..." Ben trailed off, before he punched Johnny lightly, well lightly for him, in the arm. "Where the hell were you?" He barked.

"Ben." Alesha scolded before she hugged Johnny. "I'm so glad you're safe." She said as she hugged him.

"Thanks." He smiled as he hugged her back.

Sue and Reed came into the kitchen to join them.

"You know we're going to have to have a conversation." Reed raised his brow at Johnny.

"Alright, lets do it." Johnny sighed and went into the living room to sit down on a couch.

They all followed him and sat opposite him.

"Ok Johnny, tell us what happened." Reed said, very curious to know where he ended up and how he got back.

"I don't know." Johnny sighed.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Reed asked, frowning.

"I can't remember. One minute I'm hurtling towards a black hole with Victor, then...lights out." Johnny shrugged. "Next thing I know I wake up on a bed and Sue's sleeping next to me."

"You mean you don't remember a thing?" Sue asked.

"Nada." Johnny shrugged.

"It doesn't make any sense." Reed said, confused and a little bit annoyed.

"You're telling me." Johnny sighed. "By the way...how long was I gone?" He bit his lip.

"A year and four months." Sue replied in a quiet voice.

"Is that it?" Johnny exclaimed and stood up.

Everyone looked at Johnny in confusion and shock and Johnny sat back down.

"What's wrong Johnny?" Sue asked.

"I just...It seemed like longer." Johnny shrugged.

There was a pause as Reed studied Johnny.

"Hey, Johnny." Sue began. "You probably wanna you know, go take a shower and...change out of your uniform."

Johnny looked down at his dirty, ripped suit and chuckled.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea." He said.

"Come on." Sue took his hand and led him to the bathroom. "Here's a towel." She said as she handed him a large bath towel. "Your room is just how you left it. I didn't want to..." She stopped and her eyes began to well up.

"Thanks Sue." Johnny smiled and hugged her.

Sue breathed in her brother's scent as she hugged him back. He smelled the same as he always did, but different. There was an odd scent hidden amongst his own that she couldn't work out. It was strong and toxic smelling, she held her breath until he released her.

"I'll...leave you to it then." Sue nodded before she headed off back to the living room.

Johnny walked into the bathroom and locked the door. He set the towel down on the counter next to the sink and leaned on it as he looked into the mirror. He studied his own face, something he hadn't seen in a while. His hair was wild and his facial hair was ruggid, his skin was pale and dirty. He closed his eyes and let his mid drift for a moment.

_Blood, slash, blades, screams, VICTOR!_

Johnny's eyes flew open and he gasped sharply. He stood bolt upright and stared at himself in the mirror. He'd lied to his friends and to his sister, he remembered everything, from the moment he was pulled into the black hole to the moment he crashed back on earth.

He shook his head quickly and started to take off his uniform. He stepped into the shower and turned on the water, it felt good against his tired skin and he washed his hair well. He stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel round his waist before looking back in the mirror. He wiped the condensation off and looked at his face again. He couldn't get used to his own face, he hadn't seen himself in what felt to him like 10 years. Wherever he was, time was different, longer somehow.

He shook himself out of his thoughts and opened the cabinet. All of his things were still exactly where he left them, his toothbrush, his shampoo, his razors. He picked up his razor and shaving foam and shaved off all of the ruggid facial hair that had been left to grow wild. He stroked his smooth, clean chin and nodded before leaving the bathroom and going into his on room.

Sue was right, his room hadn't been touched, his bed was unmade, his desk was cluttered and there were pictures of cars and motorcycles taped on the walls. He smiled as he was surrounded by familiarity. He picked out a grey t-shirt and a pair of jeans, it was then that he realised that he had buffed up a little, as his t-shirt was pretty tight. He shrugged it off and headed back to join the others.

He only got to the door before he started to get dizzy. He gripped hold of the door frame to keep his balance and stared at the floor. It was a few momenst before the dizziness cleared and he was fine again.

"Whoa." He breathed and shook his head.

Johnny put it down to having a wild day and went back to the living room.

"Where did the wolf man go?" Ben asked, smirking at Johnny.

"What?" Johnny frowned.

"Ignore him Johnny." Sue rolled her eyes and approached her brother. "You look great." She said as she stroked his cheek.

"Thanks, I feel a lot better too." Johnny smiled at her.

"So Johnny, are you sure you don't remember anything? Not where you were or what you saw?" Reed asked, eager to know more about black holes.

"No." Johnny lied again, avoiding Reed's gaze uncomfortably.

"Nothing? Not even a little?" Reed pushed.

"No, Reed." Johnny snapped.

"It just doesn't make sense. How can you not remember anything?" Reed asked him.

"I don't know! I told you, lights out! Ok? So just drop it!" Johnny barked before leaving the room quickly and heading for the elevator.

"Good job, Reed." Sue scowled at Reed before rushing after her brother. "Johnny!" She called down the hallway and saw him in the elevator just before the doors closed.

Johnny got out of the elevator and exited the Baxter building.

"Johnny, wait!" Sue called as she rushed out into the lobby from the other elevator but Johnny was already gone. Out, alone in the big city.

Sue cursed silently and headed back upstairs.

"We have to find him." She said as she entered the living room again.

"Sue maybe he..." Reed was cut off by Sue.

"Reed! I won't lose him again!" She snapped, her voice starting to shake.

"He's an adult, Sue. We can't make him stay here." Reed said.

"Listen Stretch." Ben joined in the conversation. "Usually I'd agree with you. The kid can take care of himself, I get it. But this is different. He was sucked into a black hole and disappeared for a year, then he poofs back, good as new. Something's up and we gotta keep an eye on him for a while."

Reed looked at Ben, then at Sue, then he sighed. "You're right, lets go find Johnny."


	4. Hello emptiness

**_DISCLAIMER!_**

_Obviously I do not own any Fantastic Four characters, themes or storylines (except this one). All rights belong to Marvel :)_

_I can't be bothered to do the whole copyright thing but just, please don't take my story :)_

_Thank you all my readers and for the reviews from **Stupid Shiny Twilight Fan**,** liltiger534** and** KDean9** thank you so much for the feedback, I really appreciate the support :D_

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><p><strong>Chapter 4: Hello emptiness<strong>

Johnny wandered through the streets aimlessly, looking for something. What he was looking for he didn't quite know yet.

"Where would he be?" Reed asked himself out loud. He felt terrible for the way he acted before. As Sue has always accused, his brain got in the way. He was far too concerned with his research than the safety of his teammate, his brother-in-law. Scratch that, his friend.

Sue frantically turned her head left to right searching the streets.

"We'll find him Suzie, he couldn't have gotten far." Ben assured her in his usual gruff tone, which he tried his best to make softer.

"I just don't wanna lose him again." Sue cried.

Johnny kept walking, he didn't even know how to stop walking. He just kept going like he was being pulled towards something. He walked until it became dark, and he passed a large allyway.

"John..." A hoarse voice croaked to him from the darkness.

Johnny stopped in his tracks, his eyes wide with surprise and caution. He stepped back and looked into the ally.

"John..." The voice said again, louder this time.

Johnny recognised the voice, but he couldn't work out why. He cautiously walked down into the darkness, stepping hesitantly towards the voice. Any person's natural instinct is to run away from something strange, but Johnny was driven by curiosity, something that his sister used to warn him about when they were kids.

He stopped when he saw a foot sticking out from behind a bin.

"Who are you?" Johnny asked, his voice shaking more than he wanted it to.

The foot was pulled back and a dark figure stood up. It stepped out from behind the bin and walked towards Johnny. Johnny took an instinctive step back before forcing himself to stand his ground as the strange figure approached him.

The figure lifted its arms and pulled down a hood.

"Victor?" Johnny's eyes widened.

"You didn't think I'd made it did you?" Victor smirked.

"But, I saw it...I saw you die!" Johnny protested.

"You thought...you saw me die. But I survived!" Victor hissed.

"How long have you been back?" Johnny asked.

"Ten months." Victor replied.

"What?" Johnny's eyes widened.

"When they thought they'd killed me, they threw me back through the hole and I crashed back here." Victor explained.

"So...you were only there...for six months? While I was stuck there for sixteen!" Johnny began to get angry.

"Calm down kid." Victor croaked, holding his chest. "You..." He trailed off as he started to stumble backwards.

"Are you ok?" Johnny grabbed Victor's elbow and helped him sit down.

"Fine." Victor sighed as he sat on the floor.

"I take it you didn't get off lightly." Johnny frowned.

"No..." Victor breathed heavily.

Johnny closed his eyes and sighed. He was there for longer, but Victor clearly bears the worst physical scars.

"So..." Victor began. "You've been reunited with your sister and the others?"

"Yeah." Johnny nodded.

"It doesn't feel the same, does it?" Victor looked at the younger man.

Johnny looked at Victor. He'd tried to act normal around the others, he'd tried to love his sister, respect Reed and be playfully insulting with Ben, like he always had done. But Victor was right, he didn't _feel _the same, he didn't laugh heartily with Ben, he didn't beam with his usual pride in Reed and the thing that hurt the most was that he didn't feel love in his heart for his sister.

Johnny's eyes began to sting.

"It won't feel the same." Victor shook his head.

"Why?" Johnny breathed, his voice shaking angrily.

"Because of what we've been through. They took away our humanity, they crossed our human boundaries." Victor explained.

"What does that even mean?"

"For heaven sake, Johnny!" Victor barked as he stood up.

Johnny looked at him in shock and stood up too.

"Are you that thick?" Victor hissed. "They stabbed us, cut us, ripped our skin, tore at our organs! And you think that you can just go back to your little apple pie, superhero life? It doesn't work like that _kid._"

Johnny squeezed his eyes tightly shut, as the memories flooded his mind.

"You can never feel like you did before. All you will feel is pain and sorrow, I should know, I've felt this way for ten months now! Why do you think I was sat here? I can't interact with the world. I've forgotten how to!" Victor's voice began to shake.

"I can't...I can't live like that..." Johnny breathed.

They both heard voices coming from outside of the ally and Victor disappeared into the shadows.

"I think I heard shouting coming from over here!" Reed called to the others. Reed hurried towards where he heard the voices, with Sue close behind and Ben following a little bit further back.

They turned the corner in an allyway and saw Johnny standing alone in the ally.

"Johnny!" Reed called but the younger man didn't turn around.

"Johnny?" Sue began to approach him.

Johnny heard the voices but didn't feel relief of being found, or even just being with his sister. He wondered whether he should tell them of his struggles, of his pain, of his emptyness.

"Johnny, are you ok?" Sue repeated her question as she stood in front of him. God, she was beautiful. Johnny remembered how proud he was to have such a beautiful sister, but now she was simply a face. Her big blue eyes didn't sparkle to him, they didn't mean anything to him anymore and it hurt him. Victor was right about that too, Johnny couldn't feel anything but pain. He wasn't happy, or excited, or proud, or anything.

Johnny looked at Sue, debating whether he should just break down and tell her everything that he's feeling. He decided no, and smiled weakly at her.

"I'm good, sis." He nodded.

Sue smiled at him and hugged him. Johnny's eyes stung with tears as he didn't feel that warm feeling that you get when someone you love hugs you, that happiness that you're suppose to feel when you know that someone cares about you.

Susan smiled as she breathed in her brother's scent. That toxic smell was gone and left just Johnny for her to hug.

Sue and Johnny ceased their hugging and walked back to the others.

"Listen, Johnny. I'm really sorry about earlier." Reed looked at the ground. "I just...I let my brain get in the way again and..." Johnny held up a hand to stop Reed's rambling.

"Its ok, man." Johnny smiled. A fake smile he knew, but he wanted to fool the others.

"Let's get you home, tinkerbell." Ben patted Johnny's back.

They all went back to the Baxter building and Susan immediatley sent Johnny to bed.

"I'm not a kid anymore Sue, you don't have to _send _me to bed." Johnny protested. He didn't actually care, in fact he was rather tired. But he knew that he used to want to stay up late. He never went to bed until he was physically exhausted and just couldn't even stand up, so he had to fight to stay up.

"Johnny, you've been missing in a black hole for a year, you haven't even slept yet." Sue said back.

"Technically I have." Johnny pointed out.

"That wasn't sleep, you were unconscious." Sue raised her brow.

"Good point." He admitted. He knew he couldn't fight anymore because he yawned, totally blowing his cover.

"See you in the morning, kid." Ben nodded.

"Goodnight, guys." Johnny raised his hand.

"Night, Johnny." Reed smiled.

"I'll be in to check on you later." Sue smiled warmly, but again Johnny didn't feel the warmth.

Johnny nodded and walked back to his room. He changed into a pair of pyjama trousers and got into his bed.

"Do you think he's ok?" Sue asked as the three of them sat in the living room.

"He seems fine to me." Ben shrugged.

"Something's not right." Reed frowned.

"What do you mean?" Sue asked, immediately looking at her husband.

"He just doesn't...seem right." He pursed his lips, searching for the right words.

"How you figure?" Ben asked.

"I don't know, I wanna do some tests on him tomorrow." Reed said, looking to Sue for permission. "I was going to ask today but I think he's had quite a day already."

"That might be a good idea." Sue nodded, cuddling into Reed.

Johnny lay in his bed for hours, staring at the ceiling. He was tired, exhausted in fact, but he just wouldn't sleep. He heard Sue approaching his room and turned onto his side, assuming his usual sleeping position.

Sue opened the door slowly, trying to be as quiet as possible. She peered into the room and saw a large lump under the covers. She smiled and approached the bed quietly, she sat down on the side of the bed and stroked her brother's hair. It looked nice slightly longer, it reminded her of when they were younger and she smiled nostalgically. She kissed him gently on the head and left the room as quietly as she entered it.

Johnny's eyes flew open as soon as she left and he rolled onto his back again, staring at the ceiling. When his sister stroked his face he felt her hand, he felt the warmth and softness of her skin but he didn't feel the gesture, the love. It angered him that he couldn't feel the love of his sister, that he couldn't feel happy whenever she hugged him, that he couldn't be proud of her beauty and grace. His eyes began to well up and he rolled onto his other side, drifting to sleep within darkness and sorrow.

He slept but he didn't rest. He didn't feel the softness of his slumber and he didn't enjoy the sweet relief of sleep. He dreamt though, he dreamed terrible dreams. In fact, if you could see the things that were conjured up in his damaged mind, you wouldn't call them dreams at all. The word nightmare does not fit the full extremity of the terror that Johnny felt as he slept.

_Cut, tear, rip, bleed, blades, gore, slash, pull, tear, rip, cut, blades, slash, BLEED!_

Johnny screamed and his eyes flew open, welcomed by Susan's blue eyes looking at him in concern.

"Johnny?" She cried as he sat bolt upright as he woke up.

"Wha...I..." He breathed heavily, coated in cold sweat.

"Its ok, you were just dreaming." Sue wiped his forehead with a towel as she sat on his bed.

Reed and Ben hung by the doorway before Reed approached the bed and sat on a chair next to it.

"What did you dream about?" Reed asked.

Dream, Johnny didn't react to that word. It wasn't the right word so he didn't feel like he was asking about the terror that he had just witnessed in his sleep.

"Zombies." Johnny replied plainly. He used to have a recurring nightmare about a zombie pandemic so it sprung to mind instinctively.

The others smiled in relief and shook their heads. Johnny knew that Reed was disappointed, he wanted to know where Johnny was, what happened to him. But Johnny couldn't bring himself to share, it was too horrific, too painful.

"Get up when you feel like it, ok?" Sue smiled and stood up to leave the room.

"Sue?" Johnny bit his lip as he called her. She turned around and looked at his worried expression. "Do you believe that we have souls?" He asked her sheepishly.

"What?" Sue frowned.

"Do you believe that we have souls? And...that they can be taken away?" He asked.

"What's brought this on?" Sue asked as she walked back towards him.

"Just been thinking." He shrugged.

"Yes. I do." Sue nodded. "I think, that its what makes us alive. Its what makes us...human." She said.

Johnny swallowed hard.

"Why? Do you?" Sue asked him.

"I dunno." He shrugged.

"Get dressed." Sue smiled and stroked his head.

Johnny nodded and sighed when his sister left the room. If what Victor said was true, that his humanity had been taken away. Did that mean that he didn't have a soul? That he wasn't..._human_ anymore?


	5. The Reveal

_DISCLAIMER!_

_Obviously I do not own any Fantastic Four characters, themes or storylines (except this one). All rights belong to Marvel :)_

_I can't be bothered to do the whole copyright thing but just, please don't take my story :)_

_Sorry I haven't updated in like 2 months lol Just had major writers block and been occupied with other things :/_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5: The Reveal<strong>

Johnny walked into the kitchen with a bounce in his stride. Although, he couldn't feel the happiness of the bounce, he simply felt his knees bend more than usual and his strides became choppy and quick.

"Sleep well, kiddo?" Ben asked, smiling at the spring in the kid's step.

"Sure." Johnny nodded. "How about you? Like a rock?" He smirked.

"Watch it matchstick." Ben scowled.

"Morning, Johnny." Reed greeted him as he entered the kitchen wearing his lab coat.

"Morning, Reed." Johnny nodded in feigned respect.

"Did you sleep well?" Reed asked.

"I guess." Johnny shrugged.

"Now, I don't mean to push you but...I'd like to do some tests on you." Reed bit his lip and Johnny raised his brows.

"Tests?" Johnny frowned.

"Just simple health and foreign substance tests. You were pulled into a black hole and you don't remember where you were, I just want to make sure you're alright." Reed smiled softly to reassure him.

"Sure." Johnny shrugged.

Reed did just what he said. He did a series of routine almost doctor-like tests on Johnny then put him in a CT scanner and observed the results with the others.

"How does it look?" Sue asked Reed.

"Completely normal. His vitals are good, there aren't any injuries, infections, illnesses, foreign bodies or substances. He's fine." Reed smiled at Sue and she sighed in relief.

"So, am I good to go?" Johnny asked as he entered the room and pulled his t-shirt back on.

"Your results are totally normal, you're fine Johnny." Reed said to him with a smile.

"Cool." Johnny nodded in relief.

"I just wanna..." Reed picked up a scalpel and Johnny immediatley leapt back. He stared at the blade with wide eyes as flashbacks began to flood his mind.

"Johnny?" Sue cried as she tried to approach him.

"Stay back!" Johnny warned, his breathing sharp with fear.

Reed dropped the scalpel back on the table and stepped gingerly towards Johnny.

"Relax kid, what's goin on?" Ben asked.

"_You_...you're one of _them_ aren't you?" Johnny cried, pointing to Reed. "You all are!"

"Johnny, we're your friends." Reed said calmly.

"No! You're with _them_!"

"Who?"

"Relax Jonathan." Victor's voice appeared from the hallway.

Johnny looked at Victor and the others all turned to him as well.

"Victor." Reed breathed. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I knew that you would wanna do some tests on the boy. And I knew it would end badly." Victor smirked.

"He's one of them!" Johnny cried.

"No, Johnny. He's not." Victor corrected.

"What's going on?" Sue demanded.

"Oh...he didn't tell you?" Victor raised his brows. "Shame on you Johnny."

"Victor, don't." Johnny begged.

"Why? Don't your friends, and your sister...deserve the truth?" Victor smirked.

"Alright, spill it tin man!" Ben growled.

"What are you talking about?" Sue begged, totally confused.

"He lied to you." Victor raised his brow. " He lied to all of you." He began walking towards Johnny. "He remembers everything from the past year." Victor hissed as he circled Johnny.

Johnny stared in front of him, his eyes wide and fearful as the memories flooded back and the guilt hit hard.

"What?" Sue breathed.

"The pain, the blood, the _screams." _Victor continued to circle Johnny. "The agony that coursed through his body _every waking moment. _Yes, he remembers it all."

"Johnny, why didn't you tell us?" Reed asked.

"Because..." Johnny bit his lip as he searched for words.

"But wait..." Victor smirked. "That's not the best part."

"What?" Sue breathed, her eyes stinging with tears of hurt and concern.

"Tell them what you feel, Johnny... Oh wait, you don't...do you?" Victor cackled.

"What's he talking about, Johnny?" Sue asked.

"Its true..." Johnny said quietly.

"What is?" Reed asked.

"I don't..._feel."_ Johnny admitted through clenched teeth. "Not happiness, not excitement, not respect, or fun..." Tears crept around Johnny's eyes as he looked at Susan. "Not even love."

Sue let out a small cry as she placed a hand over her mouth.

"What did you do to him?" Reed demanded as he turned to Victor.

"Me? My friend...I didn't _do _anything." Victor smirked.

"You lying son of a..." Ben charged towards Victor but was cut off by Johnny.

"Ben!" He called. Ben stopped and turned to Johnny. "He's telling the truth...Hell, he came out of it worse than I did."

"Victor?" Reed looked at Victor.

Victor sighed and took his hood down. He unbuttoned his shirt down almost to the bottom and pulled the sides apart. Their eyes all widened as they observed the gory, red wound on Victor's chest. The tissue around it was black and burned and the wound itself was still bleeding bright red blood.

"Oh, God." Sue breathed.

"Victor, what happened?" Reed asked.

"They realised that I didn't care for my emotions, that I cared for no one, so they tried to kill me and sent me back."

"Who's they?" Reed asked.

"That, I'm still not sure about." Victor frowned.

Reed frowned as he thought hard, trying to make sense of everything Victor had said. Ben looked at Victor, then to Reed, then to Johnny, studying the kid's face that was full of damaged memories and absent emotions.

Sue stared at Johnny. Not wanting to believe any of the horrific things she'd heard.

"Which reminds me." Victor began and looked at Johnny. "How did you get out? Did they release you?" He smirked as he knew they only released people once their humanity is totally gone.

"No." Johnny said plainly. "I escaped." He told them in a sigh.

"How?" Victor looked at him in amazment.

"Does it matter?" Johnny snapped, almost hurt in his eyes, though they mostly remained blank.

"Of course it does!" Victor barked. "Nobody escapes _them_. At least not without losing a few bits."

"What d'you want me to tell you? I saw an escape route and I took it, okay?" Johnny looked at Victor sternly.

Victor was silent. Reed looked like he had something to say, Ben slowly pieced together the recent information in his head and Sue simply stared at her brother.

Johnny sighed and looked away from Victor, only to catch a worse gaze. Susan's eyes glared at Johnny in horror, tears threatening to pour out as he lip trembled softly. Johnny frowned and took his eyes from her, feeling awkward under her gaze as he had nothing to say.

"Victor, you need medical attention." Reed spoke to Victor.

"You think a doctor's gonna know what to do with this?" Victor asked a rhetorical question whilst gesturing to his wounds.

"No, I'll help you. Come up to my lab." Reed offered.

Victor sighed, reluctant to accept help from his old rival, but did so. Truth was he really did need the help.

Sue contined to stare at Johnny, refusing to comprehend the terrible things she'd heard.


	6. Flight Risk

_DISCLAIMER!_

_Obviously I do not own any Fantastic Four characters, themes or storylines (except this one). All rights belong to Marvel :)_

_I can't be bothered to do the whole copyright thing but just, please don't take my story. Be original, make up your own, everyone's imagination is diverse and beautiful, so find yours _

_Arggh! I hate life, always gets in the way of writing fanfiction :/ So I got a new laptop for Christmas, so I lost some of my files, (couldn't finish off the half of this chapter I had already done) But I got it all back and the show must go on!_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6: Flight Risk<strong>

Johnny felt like a scolded child as he sat on the couch in the empty room. It wasn't an unfamiliar feeling, when he was younger he was always getting in trouble, and waiting outside the principal's office was sort of like a habit rather than an order.

But this was different. His friends had left to take care of Victor, leaving him alone as he didn't care what happened to him, or even them. This wasn't like waiting to be told what he did was wrong and that he should try and behave by a stuck up teacher, he was waiting for his friends to pluck up the courage to talk to him, or waiting for them to come up with a plan of how they could help him. They'd just been told that he had no emotions, no feelings, so he didn't blame them for not wanting to be in the same room as him.

He would usually say that it made him sad, that it hurt that his friends couldn't be in the same room as him, but he couldn't feel anything. He wasn't sad, or hurt…Just angry. Angry that he couldn't feel, angry that he had scared his friends away. He wanted to be normal again.

Reed was the first to enter the room, his face showed forlorn and discomfort but he pushed it aside and approached Johnny. He tried to look casual, wiping his damp hands (that he'd clearly just washed Victor's blood off of) with a cloth with an uncomfortable, but polite smile tugging at his lips.

"How is he?" Johnny stood up, alarming Reed momentarily.

"He um, he's fine. He's gonna be fine." Reed nodded, not quite knowing how to talk to the 'new' Johnny.

"Good." Johnny returned, though he didn't mean his words. It wasn't good and it wasn't really bad, it was just a fact.

There was an uncomfortable pause, neither men knowing what to say and both wishing things were normal again. Reed finally broke the silence, feeling the obligation to comfort the man.

"Look, Johnny I-"

"Reed, don't." Johnny interrupted him, looking deep into his eyes with an expression like stone.

"Don't wh-"

"Don't treat me like a hand grenade!" Johnny snapped, feeling what felt like frustration. Negative feelings were about the only ones that he could vaguely feel.

"What do you mean?" Reed questioned, sympathy playing in his voice.

"You know what I mean! You were finished with Victor hours ago, you just didn't have the balls to be in the same room as 'emotionless Johnny'!"

"Johnny that's not true."

"Yes it is! I'm not the same person I was Reed, I can't feel, I don't care! About you, about Ben, about Susan! I just don't care! And I'm sorry!" Johnny seethed, his chest heaving up and down in bitter frustration.

"Johnny, it's okay…"

"No it's not okay! Don't you get that? I'm not human anymore!" Johnny blurted out, registering his words only once they were out.

Reed simply looked at Johnny, keeping control of his facial expression, but not being able to hide the horror glinting in his dark eyes.

Johnny continued to look into Reed's eyes, breathing hard with his brows furrowed. To see his friend, the great scientist Reed Richards, speechless and a bit scared, was frightening and disheartening.

"Screw this." He muttered, sweeping past Reed, almost hitting his shoulder as he exited the room.

"Johnny! Where are you going?" Reed hurried after him, swinging round the corner and watching as the young man stormed away.

"Out!" Johnny yelled without looking back.

* * *

><p>"Victor's still asleep." Susan sighed as she entered the room, looking down at her husband who sat with his knuckles to his lips bouncing his knee anxiously. "I think th- What's the matter, Reed?" She tilted her head in sympathy as she noticed her husband's unease. Then a thought struck her. "Where's Johnny?"<p>

Reed didn't answer, nor did he look up at his wife.

"Reed. Where's Johnny?" Sue repeated, standing right in front of Reed with her hands on her hips.

"Gone…" Reed answered quickly.

"Gone where?" Sue fought the panic welling up inside her and remained angry.

"I don't know." Reed stood up and walked to the middle of the room, pushing his hand through his hair.

"Reed! You let him go!" Sue shrieked angrily.

"How was I supposed to stop him?"

"How could you let him leave?" The couple argued.

"He's not a kid Susan!"

"He's not well either! Who knows what he could be doing!" Susan began to freak out, to say the least.

Her little brother, who can't feel emotion, is out in New York city on broad daylight, by himself; angry, scared and alone. God knows what could happen to him. She just got him back and now he was gone again, but did she really have him back in the first place?

Hot tears started to trickle out of her bright blue eyes and her bottom lip trembled.

Reed looked back at his wife and rushed to her. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, look, we'll find him. We'll go right now and look for him; he can't have gotten far, c'mon." He held her, rocking her in his arms as he blubbered his apologies. Sue was right, Johnny was his friend too, and he wasn't himself.

Johnny was an emotional person, he enjoyed his emotions, being happy, loving others, having fun. It must be awful to have those things taken from him and Reed hadn't exactly been the most supportive person in the world. Oh no, what had he done. He was so obsessed with finding the answers to questions Johnny couldn't answer that he drove him away. The man was frightened and he'd just made it worse.

"I-I'll go get Ben, yo-you wait for us by the door, okay?" He cupped Sue's face in both his hands and wiped a tear from her cheek with his thumb. She nodded up at him, biting her bottom lip to stop the tears as he kissed the top of her head.

* * *

><p>Johnny sat on the step, his hands clasped together at his chin as he rested his elbows on his knees. He closed his eyes, begging himself to feel something, anything…But nothing happened. He wasn't sad, he was frustrated, he wasn't angry, he was desperate. There were no real emotions.<p>

He closed his eyes tighter, trying to force some sort of feeling into his heart, it was useless.

_Blood, slash, blades, screams, PAIN!_

A grunt escaped from him as he jerked back into reality.

"Johnny?" His sister's sweet voice slipped into his ears and he turned towards it. There she was; his sister with untidy hair and tear stained cheeks, more beautiful than she's ever been.

Johnny stood up and looked at her.

"I thought you'd gone." She said quietly, hanging onto the door of the Baxter Building and looked at the floor.

"I was gonna…" He replied in an equally quiet voice as he looked up at the tall building, his home. "But I couldn't…"

A weak smile pulled at Susan's soft lips as she spared a quick glance up at Johnny before releasing the door and rubbing her arm as she studied her feet.

"Look, Sue I…"

"You don't have to say anything." Sue interrupted her brother.

"You don't know what I was gonna say." Johnny frowned.

"You were gonna apologise for not being able to care about me and blab on about how we deserve better." Sue looked up at her brother, smiling weakly.

"Okay, so you do know what I was gonna say." Johnny shrugged, he would've smiled if he had emotions, but he didn't feel like faking it.

"Johnny…Its okay. Its not your fault. I'm not mad at you." Sue started to explain, but Johnny wasn't convinced. "You've done so well, Johnny. Most people wouldn't have coped as well as you have. You tried to get back to normal, you wanted to make us happy…and that's good. We just need to…try and…"

"Fix me?" Johnny raised a brow. "Sue, I can't be fixed…"

"Yes you can!" Sue snapped, though her voice broke into a high pitch and bit her lip. "We're not trying to fix you, we want to help you. You're not alone. Even if you can't 'feel', that doesn't mean that we don't love you." She stepped forward and reached up; wiping a tear from Johnny's cheek that he hadn't noticed was there. "That's a good start." She smiled, earning a ghost of a smile from her brother in return.

"Thank you…" Johnny couldn't explain what was happening to him. A feeling welled up inside him, it was faint, but it was there, and he wasn't about to argue.

"Are you kidding? I'd be lost without my annoying, obnoxious little brother." Susan's smile grew, but Johnny's faded. She realised that he wasn't annoying or obnoxious anymore… he was…empty…but he was still Johnny, and she would hang onto that no matter what else he was.

She took his hand and nodded towards the building. "C'mon, let's get you back inside."

* * *

><p>They had all now realised that Johnny was a flight risk. The wrong word and he would leave, and they would never see him again. The worst part was, they couldn't guarantee that he would come back. He didn't care about them anymore, so he had no obligation or need to come back. He wouldn't miss them, but they would miss him.<p>

Ben sat himself down on the couch beside Johnny and switched on the TV. He had settled down on the couch to watch the game with a bag of chips and Johnny had offered to join him.

Usually Ben would be suspicious, he would expect Johnny to have pulled some sort of prank to ruin his chances of watching the football match, but that didn't happen. Johnny sat quietly, looking up at the screen and didn't move for the whole match. Ben ate, yelled, laughed, sulked and cheered loudly throughout the duration but the kid hadn't moved an inch.

"You okay, kiddo?" Ben looked at Johnny once the match had finished.

"Yeah, fine." Johnny nodded. "I'm glad your team won."

"Uhh, thanks…" Ben frowned. Since when was Johnny 'glad' for him? But then again, this wasn't exactly 'Johnny' was it?

"Did you win, sweetie?" Alesha asked as she entered the room.

"Yeah." Ben stood and approached his love. "Was barely even worth watchin'. A total wash out." Ben sighed, swinging Alesha around in his arms and planting a kiss on her lips before heading down the hallway, as nature called.

Alesha sat beside Johnny and rubbed his arm. "You okay, Johnny."

Johnny smiled at the woman and nodded, forgetting that she could not see his gestures. "Yup, fine."

"Stop smiling." She sighed, puzzling Johnny. "You can't fool me Torch, I can't see your mask. I see your soul, and your soul's hurtin'."

"My soul?" Johnny scoffed lightly, shaking his head. "Alesha, I don't even have a soul anymore…"

"Yes you do." Alesha corrected, keeping her hand on his strong arm so that she could remain connected to his energy. "You have a beautiful soul Johnny, it's just…dormant…You've obviously been through a lot…and…" Alesha sighed and stopped talking as she felt Johnny tense up.

He closed his eyes his jaw tightening and his throat narrowing.

"It felt like a hundred years…not just one." He began, feeling vulnerable, but…safe.


	7. Exposed

**DISCLAIMER!**

**Obviously I do not own any Fantastic Four characters, themes or storylines (except this one). All rights belong to Marvel :) I AM NOT STAN LEE, OR JACK KIRBY or any of the other geniuses at Marvel and I do not wish not claim anything that is not mine.**

_I can't be bothered to do the whole copyright thing but just, please don't take my story._

_Life is an art form; if you do everything with the passion of an artist and the precision of a surgeon, you'll never fail yourself._

**WARNING! – This chapter will be cheesy and angsty, but the next will be filled with action. PROMISE!**

_Shoutouts; I am soooo sorry that it takes me so long to update! I've had so many things going on and countless trips to the hospital and just haven't had time!_

_I'd like to take a moment to thank those who have read and reviewed;_ forgetmenotjimmy, KimberlyGrimm, Sutzlaa, Beltainwitch, Supreme Phoenix King, lizard1969, DammitimmaD, Storystuff, Stupid Shiny Twilight Fan , liltiger534 , KDean9.

_Wow, I think that's all of you...Again, thank you all from the bottom of my heart._

_And now, onto the cheesiest and saddest chapter (in my opinion)_

* * *

><p>"I don't know if I was conscious the whole time…or if I was even alive…It's all a huge blur." Johnny admitted, not looking at Alicia beside him. "But…there are some very clear moments…Moments I can't…" Johnny couldn't continue, he bit his lip and closed his eyes.<p>

Alicia sensed Johnny's pain, and heard it in his voice. She stroked his arm and pursed her lips, searching for the right thing to say.

"I don't know what _they _were trying to do…I was barely conscious enough to know what they were doing to me…But I could feel it…The pain was unbearable…They ripped me open, tore at my insides, burned my skin off…sliced, cut, ripped, stabbed, everything that would cause me pain, they did…"

Alicia listened intently, feeling Johnny's angst in the hot tears that rolled down her dark skinned cheeks.

"I pretended I was dead, I actually wished I was at this point. I couldn't move, or speak, or even breathe. I don't think I had the will power. So they tossed me away, in a pile of other dead bodies of various breeds of aliens and I lay there for…I don't know how long. Eventually I started to heal; somehow I had advanced healing in this place so it didn't take as long as it should have. I saw an open door and wasted no time before flying outta there. But…if you've ever had a conversation with Reed, you'd know that fire can't survive in space without oxygen, so I really had to strain my powers in order to make it last in the dense atmosphere. Although once I managed to enter the Earth's atmosphere, it was too late and I couldn't calm my powers down, so I crashed. And…that's my story." Johnny nodded, quickly wiping the tear from his cheek that he hadn't noticed while he was explaining.

"Thank you." Alicia stroked his arm again; her voice quivering as she gently wiped away tears.

"For what?"

"I know that must have been hard for you…and I'm glad that you've finally got it out. So thank you, for sharing with me."

Johnny nodded, not having anything to say…He'd said everything, too much he thought, but it did feel better, he didn't feel alone anymore, at least, not _totally _alone.

"I won't tell the others, if you don't want me to." Alicia assured him.

"Thanks." Johnny said quietly, although he secretly wished she would. He didn't want to tell them all what he just told her. Alicia doesn't judge, she can only see what's inside of a person and always knows what to say and what you're thinking.

He started to feel bad; he was now judging people. How did he know that his sister would judge him? Of course she wouldn't, she was his _sister_ for God's sake. And Reed? Reed wanted nothing more than to help him and to understand what happened to him. Ben was a prime example of prejudice. People judged Ben on his appearance, believed that he was a scary, violent monster because of his rock-like body, why on Earth would he of all people judge Johnny for not being able to feel his emotions?

"No…" Johnny said quietly.

"No?" Alicia was puzzled by Johnny long silence, followed by his short answer.

Johnny looked over at the woman beside him. "I should tell them…"

Alicia smiled. "I'm glad you think so."

There was a silence as Johnny frowned.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Alicia asked, squeezing Johnny's shoulder.

Johnny nodded, and then remembering his gesture went unnoticed and cleared his throat. "Yes please." He answered, feeling like a child again.

He'd felt like a child a lot recently; not being able to interact with everyone properly, having everyone fuss over him and wanting to keep him happy. He'd had a hard childhood, growing up without a mother, just an alcoholic, depressed father and his angelic sister who was his shining light, his teacher, his mother, everything. Then when his father was imprisoned, he started to act out. Falling in with the wrong crowds, carjacking, going for joy rides to impress girls; but that was before he'd realised his passion for cars. With Sue's encouragement, he got a job in a garage and worked his way up until he eventually became the boss of that garage and two others before Sue got into space travel, and the rest is history.

"Come on then." Alicia stood up and offered Johnny her hand.

If he rejected it, he would remain alone and frustrated and his friends would eventually become tired of his strange ways and he would end up leaving, and having to face the world alone, he wouldn't survive long on his own. But if he took it, he would be led to his friends, and would have to relay his painful story once again, but he wouldn't be alone. They would finally understand – Hopefully – and they could possibly help him.

He chose the latter, and took Alicia's soft hand, only to be pulled up from his seat and taken to Reed's lab, where – coincidently – everyone had gathered outside Victor's room.

"Oh, hi Johnny!" Sue turned and waved happily at her brother, ignoring his sullen expression and acting like nothing was wrong.

"What's going on?" Reed noticed that something was off. Since when did Alicia and Johnny travel around together?

Sue shot Reed a scolding glare. She'd learned not to ask questions, just to allow Johnny to do as he pleased, so long as it kept him happy. She would _not _lose him again.

"Johnny has something he'd like to share with you all." Alicia said, placing her hand now on Johnny's back to encourage him forward but his feet remained rooted to the spot.

Ben, Sue, Reed…their eyes were all on him, waiting for him to share his story. He felt…fear…nerves…what if they _did _judge him? He couldn't do it; they wouldn't understand, they'd turn him away. He felt ashamed and scared and suddenly wished that he couldn't feel anything at all.

"You can do it, you're not alone, Johnny." Alicia said quietly to him, and he took a deep breath.

* * *

><p>So he told them everything, and they listened. Not once did they judge their friend, teammate, brother.<p>

Ben praised him, gaining a whole new level of respect for his friend.

Reed swore to help him, to find out what did this to him and how to restore his 'humanity'.

Susan loved him. She always had, and always would and none of this or anything else would ever change that.

* * *

><p>A few weeks passed and Johnny was getting on a little better. He still didn't feel like he should, but occasionally a bit of happiness crept in and he was still scared whenever he thought of his experience. But he was sleeping better, he was social again, and he knew how to react properly without faking emotions.<p>

Susan was so proud of her little brother. She didn't know how he could handle this; having no emotions, not being able to care about those close to her. How would she feel if she didn't love her husband anymore? A shiver slipped down her spine and she shook her head, refusing to think about it.

* * *

><p>Reed continued to try to nurse Victor back to health. He didn't quite understand why he was doing it. Over a year ago, he tried to destroy the Earth, and in doing so, sent himself and Johnny to a distant planet in a black hole. But Reed was the forgiving type. He didn't care about Victor, he didn't like him and didn't wish him good health, but he was not the sort of person to leave a man in the street to die.<p>

It was when Reed's back was turned – as always – when Victor woke up. The scientist was checking all of his scanners to make sure that all was well in Earth and there were no extra-terrestrial disturbances when he heard a faint groan. He turned quickly and raised his brow as he saw Von Doom trying to sit up.

"Hey, you're not strong enough yet." Reed pushed him back down. He'd been in a state of comatose for a number of weeks, he wasn't ready to get up and walk around just yet. "Just rest, I'll be back later." He told Victor, locking down all of his equipment before he left the medical room, locking the door behind him.

He didn't trust Victor; he didn't have to think about why. It was just pure instinct now.

"He's awake." Reed announced in a sigh as he entered the living room.

"Gin!" Johnny slapped down his cards on the table, receiving glares from Alicia, Ben and Sue, the other players. "Oh, sorry." He bit his lip and shrunk in his seat.

"Victor's awake?" Sue stood up from the table and headed over to Reed, curling up on the couch beside him.

"Yeah, he's as weak as a kitten though." Reed put his arm around Sue, cuddling her closer to him as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Ha! Now this I gotta see!" Ben cackled, imagining Dr Doom crawling around on the floor like a baby kitten.

"Ben." Alicia hissed, scolding him with a swat on the shoulder.

"When do you think he'll be back on his feet?" Sue asked, ignoring Ben.

"I don't know." Reed shrugged. "I'm gonna go check on him later, but he won't be able to get up until at least tomorrow."

"Is he okay?" Johnny asked, receiving glares again, but these glares weren't sharp, they were surprised.

"Um, yeah…his injury is almost healed and there's no lasting physical damage." Reed answered, confused as to why Johnny was asking about Victor's well-being.

"Why do you care?" Ben asked him. Susan rolled her eyes; she was going to ask the same thing, but did he have to be so blunt?

"I don't…well…I don't think I do." Johnny frowned, standing up from the table and leaning on the wall. "I guess he's the only person that knows how I'm feeling, like properly understands and feels it too…I don't _care _about him exactly, I think I just sort of…want him to be alive." Johnny shrugged, glad that he could now be totally honest about how he's feeling, although they didn't always understand.

"That's fair kiddo." Ben nodded, standing up and pulling Alicia away from the table. "Now if you'll excuse me, I owe somebody dinner." He twirled Alicia round and she giggled as they headed out.

"Have fun!" Sue called as they left. "Well, I've got some work to do." She kissed Reed and stood up.

"Work? Like what?" Reed asked, keeping hold of Sue's hand as she stood up.

"Well, rumours are circling around Johnny's reappearance; I have to make sure things don't get outta hand." She answered, satisfying Reed as he released her hand and smiled at her.

Then it was just Reed and Johnny.

They were silent for a while before Reed stood up. "Well, I better go make sure Victor hasn't trashed my equipment." He flashed Johnny a smile before heading out.

"Hey, Reed?" Johnny called after him sheepishly.

Reed stopped at the door frame and looked at him. "Yeah?"

"Do you think...Well…Can I go with you?" Johnny asked, looking down at his feet.

"You wanna come and see Victor?" Reed asked and Johnny nodded quietly in return.

"I know it's stupid but…"

"It's fine, Johnny. Come on." Reed nodded and headed up the stairs, Johnny hurrying after him.


End file.
